The present invention relates generally to the cleaning of contact lenses and more particularly to apparatus designed therefor.
Contact lenses for wearing in direct contact with the cornea of one's eyes as an alternative to eyeglasses for the correction of visual disorders are well-known. For a number of years, such lenses have conventionally been constructed of a relatively rigid, hydrophobic material, commonly called "hard" contact lenses. In recent years, contact lenses have also been constructed of hydrophilic plastic materials which are substantially flexible and pliant when saturated with water, commonly called "soft" contact lenses. Both types of contact lenses are in widespread conventional use. However, with the advent of the so-called soft contact lenses, such lenses have become increasingly popular due to the greater comfort in the wearing thereof. Both types of lenses require periodic cleaning, usually daily, with a special detergent preparation. Conventionally, the cleaning of contact lenses is usually carried out manually by holding each lens in the palm of one's hand, applying the cleaning preparation thereto and manually working the preparation onto the lens with the forefinger of the other hand. As will be recognized and appreciated by those knowledgeable in the art, this manual operation can provide substantial difficulty when carried out with soft contact lenses and is generally considered an aggravating necessity attendant to the use of contact lenses. Accordingly, one existing problem with this cleaning method is that often it is performed haphazardly with poor cleaning results. Furthermore, the manual handling of the lenses creates a danger of damaging them.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus particularly adapted for facilitating the cleansing of contact lenses of all types with only limited manual handling and manipulation thereof being required.